At the Commonwealth Semiconductor Forum held today at the Shangri-La Hotel in Taipei, TSMC founder, chip war, Chris Miller spoke about the current state of the chip industry. During an hour-long public debate, Chang for the first time admitted to supporting recent US initiatives such as the Chip Act and attempts to slow down semiconductor development in China. today’s event was attended by over 300 people, at least one-third of whom were senior semiconductor executives.
The forum was initiated by Miller, Associate Professor of International History at Tufts University’s Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, who gave an introduction outlining how TSMC became the world’s most important chipmaker. A public conversation then began between Chang and Miller, moderated by Commonwealth Chairman Yinchuen Wu, who also spoke at the event, Taiwan’s vice president and chairman of his DPP, Lai Ching Te.
Miller predicted that in the next few years, the semiconductor industry would be highly diversified geographically, creating a chasm between China and the rest of the world. However, he said the current concentration of relevant technologies in a few countries means that the transition will occur “quite slowly”.
On the same topic, Chang didn’t seem too confident about spreading excellence in semiconductor manufacturing around the world. Bearing in mind his recent experience with TSMC in the US, Chang said, “Taiwan, Japan and South Korea have competitive advantages in manufacturing.” He further added, “What matters is the work culture in those cultures.” (This is a topic Chan has brought up before, questioning potential cultural classes at his TSMC fab in Arizona.)
There may be another criticism of the idea that semiconductor manufacturing can succeed anywhere.During the forum, Chang told the audience that the global proliferation of chip manufacturing has led to rising chip costs, with manufacturing costs in the United States double Those in Taiwan – and a slowdown in the pace of development.
Moving on to the US-China trade relationship and Taiwan’s role in it, Chan said China is currently 5-6 years behind Taiwan He holds a PhD in chip manufacturing technology and supports US efforts to maintain it. Clearly, the TSMC icon speaks to US pressure on allies and restrictions on technology sharing by major players like ASML with Chinese firms. Chan also expressed his support for the US tipping law initiative. Importantly, this is the first time the iconic TSMC founder has expressed support for these US policies.
Finally, Mr. Chan’s remarks became the target of criticism of the United States. On the topic of “friend-shoring,” in which countries and companies establish supply chain networks with political and economic allies, he pointed out that it is like a one-way street between Taiwan and the United States. Zhang noted that Washington has excluded Taiwan from its future semiconductor vision and there is no friend-shoring to the island.
